Staying in a Cave Hotel

Not sure if a purple woolly mammoth was more efficient than Henry the hoover but living a Flinstones-ish life in Bedrock town would be quite a fun thing to do, wouldn’t it?

All the “prehistoric” shenanigans and preposterous mechanisms dubbed as “technology”, inhaling unpolluted air and eating organic food (I suppose), living itself would be quite an experience. But then again, I wouldn’t want to give up civilisation and become a recluse among high mountains. Are you kidding, there’s no Instagram to make me feel great about my life and Twitter bird to listen to most of my very epiphanic 140-word realisations. Missing Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales? No thank you.

A cave hotel in a village of Cappadocia is more than enough to check-out from modernity and check-in to a very (temporary) zen life.

Yes, cave hotel!

Not some beautifully crafted new buildings you find in Ideal Home or House and Garden, but a genuine cave where soft volcanic rock’s hallowed out to be a room or even a home. Expect lots of earthy hues with a backdrop of cyan sky, grungy medieval interiors and sleeping on homespun bedsheets.

And even though these caves have all mod cons and breakfast buffets, they are nonetheless CAVES. (Didn’t we just agree to not go to the extreme?)

Spent four days inKelebek Hotelduring our visit to Cappadocia, a spectacular site that houses 36 rooms – fairy chimneys, caves and stoney ones – all bundled up outlandishly for guests to take their pick.

These two images of the room are taken from Kelebek’s gallery because mine were blurry phone shots. As you can see, a room simple but not bare, well furnished and equipped.

Upon arrival we were shown around and invited to the terrace for a glass of tea. It’s also where we had our breakfast for four days.

I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of Turkish mint/apple tea with a cube of brown sugar. And the view around this lavish Mediterranean breakfast spot.

Outside of our room there’s a pool, not polished and sleek like an infinity pool but definitely one that’s far from mediocrity.

Don’t think the Dorchester offers this.

The part of the experience that intrigued me the most was probably when the night fell.

For 4 days, we had dinner at traditional restaurants nearby and headed back to a room tranquilly highlighted and shadowed because of the soft lightings installed at the hollow parts of the ceiling.

The ambience was so peaceful it never took us too long to ditch our phones and disconnect. We also requested for some dry logs, stacked them like a mini fort in the fireplace, swiped a match and watched the wobbly flame, all while listening to turkish folk music and snacking on the complimentary lokum provided by the hotel.

A note if you are planning to visit Cappadocia: Coat yourself in lotion, body cream, body oil, anything that has high viscosity and retains moisture in your skin. The weather is very, if not exceedingly dry (think desert), lips will crack and face will be tightened sans the thrill and benefits of botox injections.

Moisturising yourself in Cappadocia is a must and is no child’s play.

Overall the experience was strikingly unfamiliar and pleasant at the same time. The hosts were friendly and helpful, spoke good English and the variety of dried fruits served at the breakfast buffet made me feel like an Ottoman royal.

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